How to Add More Space for Live Tiles in Windows 8.1

Barring the use of any downloadable programs like Start8, the Start Screen is the single most visited interface for millions of Windows 8.1 users. It’s coveted real estate.

Here’s how to make room for more Live Tiles in Windows 8.1

Most apps hope to be so useful that they’re pinned here by users. Files too are pinned here so that users can quickly and easily access them without having to go looking for them inside the Desktop or through the SkyDrive app. Xbox Music even allows users to pin their favorite albums or playlists here.

Pinning all of this content and getting quick access to your files comes at a cost for Windows 8.1 users. Very quickly the Start Screen can turn into an unmanageable behemoth that forces users to scroll to the right endlessly just to find what they’re looking for. There are ways around this though. Windows 8 devices that have the Windows 8.1 update installed and a decent quality display, have a setting that allows them to make more space for Lives Tiles.

Go to the Start Screen by pressing the Windows button underneath your tablet or convertible’s display or by pressing the Windows key on your desktop or notebook’s keyboard.

Users with a touchscreen should slide their finger from the right edge of their display to the left to open the Charms Bar and then tap the Settings Charm. If your device has a mouse and keyboard, place the mouse’s cursor in the top-right corner of your screen to open the Charms Bar. Then click on the Settings Charm.

Now tap or click on Tiles in the menu.

If your device has a high enough resolution to support showing more tiles on the Start Screen you will automatically see an option labeled Show More Tiles. Tap or click on that option to add a fourth row for more Live Tiles.

If you don’t see that option than the best you could hope for is to plug your device up to a display that does have a high enough resolution to activate the Show More Tiles option. The display must have a resolution of more than 1366 x 768 for the Show More Tiles option to appear.

Turning on the Show More Tiles option isn’t magic. To make room for that extra row, Windows 8.1 makes the other tiles on your Start Screen smaller. Typically, smaller tiles aren’t a big issue for anyone using a mouse and keyboard. However, small Live Tiles could be particularly hard for you to accurately if you’re using a device with a touch screen.

If you have a device running Windows 8 without the Windows 8.1 update, this functionality isn’t yet available to you. You’ll need to head to the Windows Store app and click or tap on the banner that says Windows 8.1 Update first. That process could take an hour or so.

One Comment

james braselton

02/22/2016 at 10:33 pm

hi there this is master chief spartan 117 glad some one else promting windows vlive tile wating more of them not having zero live tiles the dell laptop windows 10 laptop has 25 live time plus live tiles on mac ix mac air with tile weath and stock touch live tiles on mac ox ios has live tiles too sick touch tile weather weather on weather bug weather channel and lots more live tiles on ios xox 360 live tiles xbx one live tiles too